Southampton have been taken over by Serbian businessman Dragan Solak’s Sport Republic investment firm, the English Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
Sport Republic, which specializes in sports and entertainment investments, has reportedly paid £100 million ($135 million) for an 80 percent shareholding previously owned by Jisheng Gao in the south coast.
The club itself did not disclose the financial elements of the acquisition.
But while the Chinese businessman, who bought her stake in 2017, is bowing out, Katharina Lieber, who inherited the club from her late father Marcus in 2010 while in League One, has retained her 20 percent stake in the Saints. .
Solak is a major investor in London-based Sport Republic, a company founded by Rasmus Ankersson – who recently stepped down as co-director of Brentford Football – and Henrik Kraft.
“My partner and I have long-term investment experience in the sports and entertainment industry and have established Sport Republic to combine this expertise and deliver something unique to the market,” Solak said in a statement from Southampton.
“Southampton has a lot of qualities that we are looking for in a major sports organization.
“It has a great management team, excellent talent development, talented teams playing attractive football and a dedicated fan base … Southampton will be the cornerstone of the organization we plan to build.”
‘No Revolution’
Saints manager Ralf Hasenhüttl’s team are currently 14th in the Premier League, 10 points above the relegation zone.
Sport Republic said Southampton chief executive Martin Semens would remain in charge of day-to-day operations, with chairman Kraft saying: “We will be an active and engaged owner, but we will not start a revolution.
“We were attracted to Southampton because it is already a well-run club that follows a clearly defined strategy.”
Southampton’s most successful period came under renowned manager Laurie McMenemy, with the club winning the 1976 FA Cup Final and finishing runners-up to Liverpool in the 1983/84 edition of the Premier League’s precursor Old First Division.
Most recently, Southampton were defeated in the 2003 FA Cup final and were also a losing finalist in the 2017 League Cup.
The club was in the top flight of English football from 1977–2005 before returning to the Premier League 10 years earlier.
Semens said Southampton had “searched the world for good people with the ambition and resources to lead us into the next era and I am pleased to confirm that we have found them”.
He continued: “Sport Republic are seasoned investors, but also experienced in the world of elite professional sports. That combination is hard to find, and we are thrilled to have reached an agreement that secures our short- and long-term future.
“We are grateful for the support of Mr. Gao and Katharina for allowing us to take our time, address the wrong choices, and ultimately find the right partner for the future of this great club, its fans, staff and the people of Southampton.”
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